Every startup aspires to reach the point when the road to success becomes crystal clear and smooth. But just because you have gained clarity about the road that will lead to success, it does not mean that your startup will not face any more challenges.
The time when the business is on the verge of growing is the also the time when you face a spate of challenges related to management of financials, employee management, keeping track of sales and delivery schedules, having real time view of the inventory and much else.
In order to take full advantage of the growth opportunities that have started to become apparent, what you need is an ERP. Here is the list of five signs that will tell you that now you have reached the point where you must say it loud and clear, “I want ERP!”
#1: You Have Different Software for Different Processes
What systems do the employees at you startup use to record, track and process information. Is the accounting staff using one system for receivables and payables, and the sales using another system for managing customer orders? Is the process of reconciling the financial inputs from different departments getting too complicated? It is time to go for an ERP, which will integrate all the systems and ensure financial management through a single interface.
#2: You Don't Have Easy Access to Information About Your Business
If you are asked what your average sales margin is, how long would it take you to find out the answer? Are you able to keep track of key performance metrics, like orders per day or sales to date? If the data is being manually entered, then there is very little scope for transparency in the system. With ERP in place, data can be managed and accessed efficiently and transparently.
#3: Accounting Takes Longer and Is More Difficult
As the volume of sales grows, it will be difficult for the startup to manage orders and deliveries on the basis of paper-based invoices. An ERP system can generate invoices in an instant and also send alerts to the appropriate personnel or departments regarding the sales and the delivery schedules. The overall process of accounting also becomes more efficient with ERP.
#4: Sales and the Customer Experience Are Suffering
In high-growth startups inventory management can be a big challenge. Ensuring that the right quantity of the products are available at the right location and at the right time is increasingly difficult when the business is growing continuously and multiple orders are regularly flowing in. Once the startup has an ERP, the staff at every department will have easy online access to all the necessary information and it becomes easier to manage the inventory.
#5: Your IT Is Too Complex and Time - Consuming
Having multiple systems running various processes in your business is bound to make IT management a nightmare. Customizing the myriad systems, integrating them and maintaining them with patches and upgrades can be complex, costly and a drain on time and resources. With ERP you can have the agility and capability for responding to changing business needs. A cloud based ERP is absolutely critical for the success of a business.